Posted on 06/26/2015 8:46:48 PM PDT by Cowman
The city council in Jacksonville, Florida, is considering a bill that would make it a violation of city code for residents to back their vehicles into their driveways if their license plates cannot be seen from the street.
According to the text of the bill, the new proposed ordinance would prohibit the “improper storage of vehicles” to reduce the “visual blight” of neighborhoods. It is also aimed to regulate “potentially hazardous conditions” on private property.
Supporters say the ordinance is needed in order for officers to issue citations for abandoned vehicles, the Florida Times-Union reported.
Currently, if a vehicle doesn’t have a license plate or has a license plate that has expired, police don’t necessarily know it if the owner has parked the vehicle with the tag facing away from the street. And because the vehicles are on private property, officers are limited to what they can see from the street.
The bill, filed by city councilman Warren Jones, states that if a vehicle’s tag isn’t visible from the street, the owner must legibly display the tag number using characters “not less than two inches in height” so that it can be seen from the street.
In addition, motorists who choose to cover their vehicles would have to either keep their tag number visible or post the information in a place that is visible.
“We have been trying to find a way to address this problem because it’s a blight on the community and it’s driving down property values and it’s very unsightly,” Jones told WJXT.
The bill is being driven to reduce the number of abandoned vehicles but it would also restrict residents from storing “materials, equipment, furnishings, furniture, appliances, construction materials or any other items which are not designed to be used outdoors.”
The proposal has drawn criticism from some residents.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” Dave Bryant said. The main reason I do it is people parallel park on the side of the street, so if you are backing out, you can’t see traffic coming.”
Kristyn Irwin has the same concern as Bryant.
“I can see where it could make it easier to find something if you needed to locate a vehicle for whatever reason, but I really like being able to park like that and not having to worry about backing into someone on the street,” Irwin told WJXT.
So far, two city council committees have approved the bill. It will likely be voted on by the entire council later this summer. The Jacksonville mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheBlaze.
If the ordinance is passed, homeowners who do not comply could face fines of up to $50.
That's why they want this. The vehicles are on private property leave them alone.
They want to do this so they can scan the plate numbers.
this sounds like something New Jersey would pass
In the 80s I had a cop wake me up at 5 in the morning to give me a ticket for parking my pick up in my parents’ backyard it being illegal to park a truck on the street. He took a traffic citation and scratched out traffic and wrote zoning. As he was writing out the ticket he asked if I had anything to say? I asked if this is what he imagined doing the first day of the police academy. He was not pleased.
I live in an association controlled environment. Like the government, once they get control you have no control over your property.
He was just serving you.
Bingo....we have a winner.
License plate scanners.
Reason number 72 why I’ll never live where there is a homeowners assoc.
And then they wonder why people don’t love and respect them. The nerve, considering that they risk their lives every day...
Private property, what an outdated concept. This is the 21st century. You have a driveway only because the various governments above you choose to allow you to have a driveway.
That would have shocked anyone from the year 1900. But as I noted, this is the 21st century. Just be happy the Supreme Court hasn't outlawed the whole private property concept (yet).
What happens if you have a garage? Do you have to leave the door open?
I wonder what they’d say if I pull into my driveway the way they want and then put a cover over my car? Or perhaps I put an obstruction in front of the plate?
I would say this....if you have enough cops in your district to just drive around and do plate searches....you have too many cops. Fire ten-percent and see if that makes a difference.
LOL!
Whoever dreamed up that abomination just went “Doh!”
Exactly.
LEOs are not Peace Officers.
That is why.
(((What happens if you have a garage? Do you have to leave the door open?)))
I was wondering about that myself.
What if you have a security fence with a gate? Do you need to leave the gate open at all times therefore making the fence useless?
What if you have a storage trailer? Do you need to Insure and register it even if you have the wheels removed?
Up here in the frozen North we have winter cars that you take off the road for 6 months while you drive your summer car. Do you need to maintain the registration and insurance for the time you are not using either car?
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